Photography by theonlydeadheadinthehameau

Almost exactly 74 years ago today, on 10th June 1944, a company of SS troops massacred 642 residents – mostly women and children – of the village of Oradour-sur-Glane, in the Haute-Vienne département of south-west France.

Since then, the site has been maintained as a memorial and museum, left to age unaltered, the buildings weathering and walls collapsing.

This partly overgrown double arched window can be found at the medieval Franciscan Abbaye de la Réau in the Vienne département of France. It looks like it’s had some restoration work done on it, but there’s a long way to go.

This gargoyle – I believe it’s in the form of a griffin – sits looking out from the roof of Chateau de Meillant, in central France. (Incidentally, I haven’t edited the colour of the sky at all – it really was that bright.)